"Hello? Peter! Hello?!" Newbijian roared into the microphone in vain for a few times, and finally put down his arms dejectedly.
He slumped dejectedly into the cold leather chair. The luxurious decoration of the office looked pale and fake under the glaring overhead light.
Chen Bi's indifference and Lin Huowang's hanging up were like two cold iron curtains, trapping him in this magnificent cage above Victoria Harbour.
The long night is filled with only endless fear and the bitterness of failure.
…
The next day, the night sky of Victoria Harbour was quietly torn apart by the morning light, and the drums of another trading day were about to sound.
However, beneath the calm surface, a storm is brewing.
Although the Swire Group, at the instruction of Newbigin, urgently issued the good news of "10% super high special dividend" in the form of an official announcement in an attempt to appease market sentiment, this small boat seemed so thin and powerless in the vast ocean of panic.
The morning headlines of major newspapers and magazines, like sharks smelling blood, have already bared their fangs:
"Is the core pledged shares of Hong Kong Land about to be liquidated? Is the end of the Jardine Matheson Empire approaching?"
“Jardine Matheson’s late-night fundraising efforts have been fruitless, exposing the predicament of British capital!”
“HSBC remains silent! 10% dividend is suspected to be a pipe dream. Who can take over Hutchison Whampoa?”
“The Storm is Coming: Hong Kong Land may face a sharp drop in its stock price when it opens today!”
The ink-drenched headlines and sensational analysis, coupled with the exaggerated detail of "Jardine Matheson raising funds in the middle of the night", and the "in-depth exploration" of Jardine Matheson's overseas difficulties in the financial columns, completely interpreted the embarrassing situation of Newbigin's phone being hung up last night as evidence that British capital had no way to seek help!
However, the 10% dividend announcement was interpreted as Jardine Matheson's last ditch effort to whitewash the situation amidst the overwhelming negative coverage!
Newbijian's efforts not only failed to boost market confidence, but instead, fueled by public opinion, further exacerbated panic.
The opening bell sounded like a death knell.
Without the much-anticipated buying support and Kobayashi Tenmo's high-profile announcement of a buyout, Hong Kong's selling pressure surged out like a flood.
Even though Newbijian's own Jardine Matheson Company held hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in its hands, it did not dare to place a buy order at all, because compared with the surging sell orders, hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars could not withstand a few blows and would be swallowed up in an instant.
The opening price plummeted through HK$90! Countless sell orders were placed at low levels, but there were only sporadic, tiny takeover orders.
"80!...75!...60! It's already 60!" Screams and desperate shouts rang out one after another in the trading hall.
Newbigin was in his office, staring intently at the screen. When he saw the icy, glaring "60" symbolizing HSBC's liquidation level about to be easily pierced, his blood seemed to freeze instantly.
HSBC’s selling guillotine may fall at any time!
His vision became blurred, and he could only see the red number symbolizing the plummeting market price, which continued to plummet and head towards an unfathomable abyss.
The entire market was panic selling all assets related to Jardine Matheson.
In just less than thirty minutes, the share price of Hong Kong Land Development fell like an out-of-control free fall, smashing through the support level of HK$60 and even plunging towards the abyss of HK$50!
A huge panic completely enveloped the entire Hong Kong stock market.
Just as the share price of Swire Properties was about to plummet through the 60 yuan mark and was about to head towards an even lower abyss, the quiet dedicated phone line in Villa No. 3, Repulse Bay, finally rang suddenly again, as if announcing a verdict.
Lin Huowang glanced at the clock, a smile as bright as the rising sun. He reached out and calmly grasped the vibrating receiver.
"Mr. Xiaolin, I'm Chen Bi from HSBC..."
…
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